Solving with Einstein
Leveraging voice-cloning to model mathematical thinking and learning
A Disengaged Audience
Students often feel that learning math is a tedious and passive experience. Even videos can disengage relatively quickly. A major reason is the way math is taught. Majority of the focus is given to surface features, rather than the deep structure (Schoenfeld, A. H. (1985). Mathematical Problem Solving. Academic Press). The focus is on the solution, rather than learning the nuances of mathematical thinking.
Intervention
Leveraging improvements in voice-cloning, we are designing a feature where students can solve problems with active feedback from celebrity scientists. The feedback’s focus is not on the solution, but rather on cultivating the right mindset. It is a collaborative problem-solving approach and a different ecosystem altogether.
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Additionally, this adds both novelty and familiarity to the learning process. Novelty because of the uniqueness of the ecosystem, and familiarity with the celebrity voices.
Potential Cons
One problem will be the portability of accents into alternative languages. Spotify has already overcome this issue, cloning the host’s voices in podcasts and sharing it to audiences in different countries in their own native language.
Tests
We’re testing this. Benchmarking against both typical instructional videos as well as standard (non-mediated) math problem-solving environments will tell us of any potential impact.
